Q. Who is EE?

A. If you see a line on your bank statement with the words "Ee Membership" - or a transaction detail on your app with the letters or even logo EE - please don't get alarmed or wonder who has been accessing your account - it's the wording used to denote payment of your Ealing Eagles membership or renewal fee. On the assumption that you want to continue with your membership, querying the payment creates extra work for our treasurer and risks us having to pay bank charges.

Q. I joined in September. Why do I have to pay again in March?

A. The club membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March, in line with the England Athletics membership year. We do not have a pro-rata membership fee – everyone pays their membership fee when they join and at the end of every club year after that. New memberships (new to England Athletics so this does not apply if you have previously been a member of Ealing Eagles or any other England Athletics affiliated club) purchased between 31 December and 31 March each year will be valid until the end of the following membership year (i.e. if you join the club in January 2016, your membership will be valid until 31 March 2017).

Q. I'm injured. Can I freeze my membership?

A. The membership fee is a one off fee at the time of joining which is then renewed annually. There's no monthly fee option, so there's no option to freeze the membership. And remember you can still take advantage of the information on the website, club Facebook group for discussions with your fellow runners, EA and club discounts with our partners, volunteering at events and coming to socials when you're injured, all of which are part of being in the club. 

Q. What does my membership fee include?

A. We feel that £43 represents excellent value for money when you take into account the coached club sessions, discounted transport to certain races, league race entry fees and subsidised social events that we offer to club members. It’s far cheaper than a gym! £19 of your joining fee covers your England Athletics affiliation fee, which gives runners discounted entry to affiliated races and other benefits.

Q. I ordered a club running vest/other item of kit. When will I get it?

A. Club kit is handled by our Kit Officer, Piers. When you place your order you can choose to have it delivered (as long as you have a large enough and accessible letter box!) or you can arrange to collect it. Piers will get in touch with you when your kit is ready to finalise arrangements. Please email kit@ealingeagles.com if you have ordered an item which has not yet arrived or for any other questions about kit. 

Q. I’m nervous about attending a club run. What if I get lost?

A. We have runners of all paces at our club runs. Our only stipulation is that you must be able to run our short route (approximately 3.5 miles) without stopping or walking. If you’re unable to do this, our Beginners Programme will help get you up to this level. We have tail runners for the Monday and Wednesday night club runs – the job of the tail runner is to make sure no one gets left behind, and to stay with the slowest runner. We encourage new members to make themselves known to the club run lead and to chat to other runners when they arrive for their first club run – we’re a very friendly club and you’ll usually find there’s someone you can run with whatever your pace. Have a look at the club run routes before you come along for the first time – they are fairly straightforward but we recommend that you familiarise yourself with them before you arrive to run. There’s just one simple thing to remember on a club run if you’re unsure of the route – if you lose sight of the runners in front of you and don’t know where to go, slow down until someone behind you catches you up – the tail runner won’t lose you!

Q. I’m a fast runner. Is there anything for me?

A. Yes! We welcome runners of all standards and have plenty of fast runners in the club. The club 5k records are currently 15:44 (men) and 17:24 (women), while the marathon records are 2:32:24 (men) and 2:36:39 (women). In addition to our club runs, which you can run at your own pace, our track, hills and intervals sessions are designed to improve performance for all of our runners and our club coaches will work with you to help you achieve your running goals. There are also plenty of opportunities to race for the club at all distances.

Q. Is there a charge for the training sessions?

A. No. We offer several official club sessions per week, including the Monday and Wednesday night club runs, hill training sessions, interval sessions and technique/drills sessions, depending on the time of year, which are all included in your joining fee. Runners are also free to organise their own runs, and the Facebook group is very useful for this. We also have several qualified running coaches (with the UKA Coach in Running Fitness qualification) and qualified run leaders (with the UKA Leader in Running Fitness qualification) – all club volunteers – who co-ordinate traing sessions, in particular, the hill training sessions, interval sessions and technique/drills sessions mentioned above..

Q. Is there anywhere for me to leave a bag while I’m running?

A. The Kings Arms on The Grove off Ealing Green has kindly offered to store bags for us on club run nights. Simply mention that you are with the Eagles and they will point out where to leave your bag. Bags are left at The Kings Arms at your own risk and neither the club nor The Kings Arms can accept any responsibility for loss or damage.

Q. Can I wear headphones during club runs?

A. We would prefer that club members didn’t wear headphones on club runs, as they are designed to be social runs where people can chat to each other. We would also remind runners of the safety implications of wearing headphones, particularly as our club run routes use roads, paths and pavements that are also used by motorists, cyclists and other pedestrians. However, there is no specific rule banning the use of headphones on club runs.

Q. I want to enter a race, but it’s sold out. My friend/someone else in the club has offered me their race number. Can I use it?

A. Not without the express permission of the race organiser. Race rules differ between events – some races will allow runners to transfer their place into another runner’s name, some will not. There is usually a cut-off date for transfers and you must follow the event’s transfer procedure. You may NOT run under another runner’s name/number – this is against UK Athletics regulations and may result in your disqualification from the race and, potentially, in sanctions for the club. It also presents problems for race organisers and emergency services should an emergency occur. Ealing Eagles Running Club cannot condone the swapping of race numbers without permission from the race organiser. Please do not offer your race place to anyone else without having first checked that transfers are permitted for that event.

Q. Does the club offer London Marathon places?

A. As part of our England Athletics affiliation, the club is given a small number of places for the London Marathon each year. These are given to club members via a ballot that is drawn at the Christmas party. There are various criteria for entry into the club ballot – it is only open to runners who have been a first claim member of the club since the beginning of that membership year (i.e. 1 April) and who have fulfilled the volunteering, tail running and racing criteria set out by the club. Full details can be found here.

Q. Can my child/teenager join the club?

A. We run a popular and active junior section for juniors aged 8 and above. You can read more about this here.

For children aged 4–14, we also recommend trying the free junior parkrun at Pitshanger Park on Sunday mornings at 9.30am. 

Q. How can I get involved with volunteering for the club?

A. The club is staffed entirely by volunteers and we have many different volunteer roles for club members to get involved with. The most important way to volunteer is to sign up to tailrun. We ask all club members to tail run a few times a year, and tailrunning is a condition of entry into the club London Marathon ballot. Other ways to volunteer include signing up for a leadership or coaching course (email coaching@ealingeagles.com for more information), acting as a club run lead on a Monday or Wednesday night (this simply involves welcoming new runners and making announcements; you don’t actually have to be at the front of the run and you don’t need a leadership qualification), volunteering to run with the beginners’ group (you will be able to join the main club run after the session); or you can volunteer to help the committee with tasks such as answering emails, organising teams for events such as the Summer League or Cross-Country series, or other admin. Please do get in touch via info@ealingeagles.com, or speak to any committee member if you’d like to volunteer.